"I would be disappointed any time you had that kind of of opportunity and didn't get it done," said Orb's trainer, Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey. "It is highs and lows, probably more lows than highs."

Those rooting for a Triple Crown contender knew it was going to be a low very early on Saturday.

Orb broke well, but was never better than fifth in the nine-horse field and finished eight lengths behind Oxbow, a 15-1 longshot, who was followed by Itsmyluckyday and Mylute.

"I get paid to spoil dreams," Lukas said. "You can't mail it in. It's a different surface, a different time. You gotta line them up and run them."

Orb, one of the most dominant Derby winners, had been on a five-race win streak, but was never really a factor with about 800 yards to go. He got bumped, and by then Stevens had Oxbow cruising -- for Stevens' ninth Triple Crown victory, three each in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

That is when Orb jockey Joel Rosario said he was "kind of worried a little bit" and that "today he never took off. He just steadied. Today was not his day."

Stevens, who put Oxbow on the lead and never relinquished it, was celebrating early with a three-length lead in the stretch. He would finish the 1 3/16th mile race in 1:57.54 and a 1¾ length victory over Itsmyluckday. He said, "I was smiling pretty good midway down the backside," and he never lost that glee.

"When I hit the half-mile pole, I said, 'Are you kidding me? Is this happening?' The race was over at the point. I just walked the dog from the half-mile pole.

I didn't expect him to go to the lead. This horse was so right today. He pulled me to the lead. His ears were up. He was happy."

Oxbow, at 15-1, paid $32.80, $12 and $8.80. Itsmyluckyday paid $7.80 and $5. Mylute, with Rosie Napravnik making her first Preakness start, paid $5.20 to show.

Stevens felt coming into Preakness week that "we were flying under the radar after the Derby," after Oxbow was sixth two weekends ago.

For Lukas, the win was a record-breaker. He has won 14 Triple Crown races (four Kentucky Derbys, six Preakness Stakes and four Belmont Stakes), breaking the mark of Hall of Famer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons.

Stevens, coming off a seven-year retirement, guaranteed that he was the first grandfather to win a Preakness.

"I didn't know whether I would get the opportunity," Stevens said about winning more Triple Crown races. "And here we stand on the Preakness podium. I came back for the classics."

Racing fans may not be as joyous as Lukas and Stevens, with horse racing approaching four decades since having a Triple Crown winner.

And no one was as disappointed as McGaughey, who had the 3-5 favorite and a date to win the Triple Crown on his home track at Belmont if Orb won Saturday.

The trainer, who said Friday that "freaky" things happen in racing and "there are a lot of ways to lose," said after Saturday's race that he'll probably be "more disappointed tomorrow," but "I know the game."

The Triple Crown, racing's ultimate prize for horses in their 3-year-old seasons, requires wins in the Derby (1¼ miles), Preakness (1 3/16) and Belmont (a long haul at a mile and a half). Eleven horses have won it since Sir Barton first pulled it off in 1919. None has done it since Affirmed in 1978, the last of three horses to accomplish it in the 1970s.

One theory about why the Triple Crown hasn't been clinched since is that priorities in breeding horses have changed to emphasize speed and attractiveness at sale, overlooking the stamina and durability required to win the Derby, Preakness and Belmont.

The Derby winner started his day from the No.1 post position where only two horses - Bally Ache (1960) and Tabasco Cat, trained by Lukas - have won in the past half-century.

The final race of the Triple Crown is June 8 at the Belmont Stakes, where Orb is projected to get a rubber match with Oxbow.

"We haven't gotten a chance to cool him out yet and I've got to talk to (owner) Mr. Kelley," Lukas said of Oxbow. "But you know me. I like to rack them up in the big events, so I'll probably go."